Considering how early we need to be on the road to make it to Colorado tonight, we really should’ve gone to bed earlier. Correct that: gone to sleep earlier. We did go to bed. We just didn’t do a whole lot of sleeping till much later.

Turned out Troy sucked at edging, so I had to show him again. And again. And then he had to prove to me he’d learned, so he drove me to the brink of insanity before he finally let me come.

I sigh as I take in my red-shot, small eyes. My hair is such a hot mess, I’m not going anywhere near it until I can take a shower and wash it properly. It will have to wait till we reach Colorado. For now, I just tie it into a sloppy man-bun. It will have to do.

Troy stumbles into the bathroom, and he doesn’t look much better. “Fuck,” he mumbles. “It’s too early to be up.”

He looks adorable with his hair sticking up in every direction, and I grab his hand and yank him toward me for a morning kiss. He protests a little, probably because we haven’t brushed yet, but I don’t care. Like a little morning breath is gonna bother me.

“Morning, sunshine,” I tease him when I’m done thoroughly kissing him.

I pull him close for a hug, his morning wood poking me. I don’t know if it’s because he’s still half-asleep or what, but he returns my hug with more enthusiasm than usual, and even snuggles close for a bit. I nuzzle his neck. “Want me to take care of that for you?” I ask, sneaking my hand between us to rub his hard cock.

“Mmm. Would you?” he asks. “You don’t have to, but…”

I’ve already sunk to my knees, and I free his cock from his boxers. “My pleasure.”

It takes me less than two minutes before he comes with a deep sigh. He’s messed up my bun, of course, but it was totally worth it.

“You look like shit,” he says when he gets a good look at me.

“Wow, that’s some kind of thank you.” I rise off my knees, lick the last remnants of his cum off my lips.

“Sorry,” he says, then shoots me one of his sexy grins. “Thank you for the blowjob. You look like shit.”

“Have you looked in the mirror?” I say indignantly. “You don’t look much better, dude.”

He turns to study himself in the mirror. “I still look twice as good as you.”

I slap his ass. “Have your eyes checked, man. Nobody looks twice as good as me, not even on my worst day. Now, put on some clothes so we can go downstairs for breakfast, ‘cause I need to mainline some caffeine.”

Troy halts in his moves. “I figured we’d do a drive thru somewhere for coffee and unhealthy breakfast sandwiches.”

I walk into the room, grab a T-shirt and a fresh pair of jeans from my weekend bag. “No, I booked a full breakfast for both of us with the room. Figured we’d need the fuel for a whole day of driving.”

I get dressed quickly, and it doesn’t hit me till I’m putting my socks on that Troy hasn’t responded. I look up to find him watching me with a strange look on his face. It’s not anger. More like...panic?

“I can’t afford breakfast here,” he says. “I need that money for tuition. It was stupid of me to even gamble with it, and I got lucky I made it back with the stripping thing.” He starts to make a move like he wants to jam his hands into his pockets, but then apparently realizes he’s not wearing pants, so he ends up with clenched fists.

“That’s okay,” I say carefully, sensing I need to tread lightly here. “I told you this hotel was my treat. That includes breakfast.”

He doesn’t look reassured. “How much is the breakfast?”

I shrug. “I dunno. It’s usually between fifteen and twenty bucks in hotels like this.”

He relaxes a little. “That’s not too bad,” he says. “A coffee and a breakfast sandwich will run you close to eight bucks already.”

“Twenty bucks each. Not including tip,” I add. I could lie to him, but that will only end up biting me in the ass.

“For that much money, they’d better serve, like, caviar or something,” he mutters.

“It’s probably a breakfast buffet,” I say. “Maybe with some fresh options, like waffles or pancakes, or they may have an omelet bar.”

He finally starts putting on some clothes. “I don’t even know what that is.”

It’s starting to sink in that this is a whole new experience for him. I travel regularly for Ballsy Boys events, and while we don’t always stay in the most expensive hotels, we’ve outgrown the cheap-ass motel phase. When clients bring us out, for instance for a photoshoot, they need to put us up in respectable hotels. As a result, I’ve stayed in hotels like this all over the country and even in Europe. Troy hasn’t, and that’s probably embarrassing him.

“It’s like an area where you can gather fresh ingredients for an omelet, or point them out, and they’ll cook a made-to-order omelet for you.”

“Oh.”

That one word is filled with so much emotion, it’s almost tangible in the room. What do I do? Do I ignore it to avoid making him feel even more uncomfortable? Or do I address it, try to take away his shame? I opt for the second one, but still choose an indirect approach.

“Before I started working for Ballsy Boys, I had never stayed at anything more expensive than a Motel 6. My parents were big on camping, so all family vacations were done in tents. We used the cheapest motels my mom would find for things like trips to Disney, or when visiting family in big cities. The first time Bear booked a Marriott for me, I was blown away. I’d never seen a bathroom that big, and I sure as hell never had a bed that size for me alone. And that breakfast… Man, I completely stuffed my face. I get it, Troy. This was new to me as well a few years ago.”

He sighs. “I’m struggling to keep my head above water, financially. I can’t afford shit like this, but I feel like crap for letting you pay for it.”

I walk up to him, approaching him like a skittish rabbit. “I get that, but there’s no need to feel guilty. I can afford it. I come from a long and proud tradition of frugal people, so I’ve invested my porn earnings wisely. Trust me, one night here won’t make a dent in my savings. And we had fun, didn’t we?”

When he doesn’t bolt, I slowly pull him close to me, hug him tightly. He allows it, but his body is tense. Maybe I need to distract him a bit. Sex usually seems to work with him, so I lower my hands to his ass.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t have fun with our edging lessons.”

He harrumphs. “That wasn’t fun. It was hot as hell, but I seriously hated you for a few minutes.”

“Our striptease, then. That was fun, wasn’t it? Or skinny-dipping in the pool?”

“We got lucky that guard was a fan of yours,” Troy grumbles, but his voice sounds less upset.

“Everyone who’s seen me is a fan,” I joke. “Once they’ve seen my cock, they’re hooked.”

I feel Troy’s face break open in a smile against my cheek. “Don’t forget your long and sexy hands. Pixie could write a sonnet about them, probably.”

I squeeze those hands around his ass cheeks to demonstrate the accuracy of his statement. “Damn right. Then there’s my mouth…”

Troy hmms. “That did feel pretty nice wrapped around my cock a few minutes ago.”

“So, I think we can safely establish you don’t like me for my money, right?” I go in for the kill.

He freezes for a second, then relaxes again. “No, I don’t,” he says softly.

He allows me to hug him for a minute or so, before he steps away. “Thank you,” he says.

I watch him with a warm feeling in my belly. “You’re welcome.”